Anatomy Lab Groups: How are the selected?

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majahops

majahops

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Totally random question here, but I was driving home from the gym tonight when it dawned on me - I'm about to become pretty close to 4-8 now-strangers in anatomy lab this fall... and I began to wonder, how are individuals typically assigned to a lab-group?

I assume it varies by school, but what are some of the ways that people are assigned? Random number generator? By last name? Something more complex?

I'd love to hear any stories about how any of you, or your friends', lab group members were assigned to their respective groups.

I wonder if anybody else here has wondered this?

While I'm at it, does't anybody remember: "I wonder..." ... "What do you wonder, wonder-cat?"
 
last name.
 
My school asked for our Myers-Briggs Types. Wouldn't it be cool if we were matched based on personality?:idea:

I inquired and found out that the groups are randomly assigned. They were just collecting personality type information to see if they could use it to understand conflicts that may arise.
 
key info! thanks so much!

EDIT: Actually, it'd be awesome if you expanded on that. Awkward, how so exactly? Just interested...

TheProwler said:
totally alphabetical. some groups turned out to be pretty awkward.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Wait, you guys were seriously all assigned your groups? We got to pick whomever we wanted. We had had a week or so of orientation activities so a lot of us already sort of had people we were becoming "friends" with.

We were just told a couple days in advance "oh, your anatomy groups will be groups of 5, so try to have 4 other people lined up, but if you don't it's no big deal, anyone who doesn't can get paired up together into groups of 5."

Four out of the 5 of us in my original group are still really good friends.
 
Having to pick (and be picked by) other people has always been a source of anxiety for me, since I was a little kid. Also, it tends to stratify people by personality type, ethinicity and attractiveness (not absolutely, but generally - I'm guessing you'll say that your group had 1 member of each race and 2 people were beauty pageant winners whereas 3 were blind midgets with one leg... hehe)... which I would imagine does a disservice to overall class cohesion. But I could be wrong. I just hope Jefferson doesn't do it this way.

GuyWhoDoesStuff said:
Wait, you guys were seriously all assigned your groups? We got to pick whomever we wanted. We had had a week or so of orientation activities so a lot of us already sort of had people we were becoming "friends" with.

We were just told a couple days in advance "oh, your anatomy groups will be groups of 5, so try to have 4 other people lined up, but if you don't it's no big deal, anyone who doesn't can get paired up together into groups of 5."

Four out of the 5 of us in my original group are still really good friends.
Click to expand...
 
majahops said:
Are you being serious here? If so, please explain.
Click to expand...
haha, yes I'm being serious, and it makes a lot of sense to do it that way. You want the anatomy table at a comfortable height for everyone. The tallest guy in my class is 6'6" while the shortest is 5'0". Can you imagine if they were working on the same cadaver?
 
No, yeah, that does kind of make sense. 🙂 thanks!

MrBurns10 said:
haha, yes I'm being serious, and it makes a lot of sense to do it that way. You want the anatomy table at a comfortable height for everyone. The tallest guy in my class is 6'6" while the shortest is 5'0". Can you imagine if they were working on the same cadaver?
Click to expand...
 
MrBurns10 said:
haha, yes I'm being serious, and it makes a lot of sense to do it that way. You want the anatomy table at a comfortable height for everyone. The tallest guy in my class is 6'6" while the shortest is 5'0". Can you imagine if they were working on the same cadaver?
Click to expand...

😍

I can't believe you matched without me... did you forget we were supposed to couples match?
 
Depakote said:
😍

I can't believe you matched without me... did you forget we were supposed to couples match?
Click to expand...
I haven't matched yet! I'm just finishing up my 3rd year, which means we'll have to work something out. I say you just skip 3rd year, then we'll couples match next year.

And of course I haven't forgotten. I have a piece of paper above my bed with a big heart inscribed in the middle with:
DPK
+
MB10
03-18-10
 
Last edited:
majahops said:
key info! thanks so much!

EDIT: Actually, it'd be awesome if you expanded on that. Awkward, how so exactly? Just interested...
Click to expand...
two people with romantic interest in each other + one guy who doesn't play well with others + two really dominant personalities who want to be SURGEONS = clash
 
TheProwler said:
two people with romantic interest in each other + one guy who doesn't play well with others + two really dominant personalities who want to be SURGEONS = clash
Click to expand...

It will make a great TV show.

"The Anatomy Lab" 8PM EST on ABC.

😆.
 
TheProwler said:
two people with romantic interest in each other + one guy who doesn't play well with others + two really dominant personalities who want to be SURGEONS = clash
Click to expand...

awww i hope i meet someone over our cadaver 😍

BlueElmo said:
It will make a great TV show.

"The Anatomy Lab" 8PM EST on ABC.

😆.
Click to expand...

i'd watch. then again, i watch anything. and i meant anything-- i watch private practice. (go ahead, flame me, i love TV.)
 
dw2158 said:
awww i hope i meet someone over our cadaver 😍



i'd watch. then again, i watch anything. and i meant anything-- i watch private practice. (go ahead, flame me, i love TV.)
Click to expand...
haha don't worry i would too... i love private practice lol
 
We have things called "learning communities" which are basically little apartment-esque type rooms with lockers, conference rooms, a kitchenette, couches, etc. Everyone in the learning community is pretty much randomly assigned. So, for the first unit of anatomy we are assigned to a group within our learning community to meet people in that group. There are 6-7 people in a group with two teams. The A team will dissect one day and the B team goes in and views prosections. Then you flip. Your group is changed up after each unit (we have 3 total). Later on, in the fall, they mix us up with other learning communities.
 
Awww man, I hope Jefferson has something like THIS.

MossPoh said:
We have things called "learning communities" which are basically little apartment-esque type rooms with lockers, conference rooms, a kitchenette, couches, etc. Everyone in the learning community is pretty much randomly assigned. So, for the first unit of anatomy we are assigned to a group within our learning community to meet people in that group. There are 6-7 people in a group with two teams. The A team will dissect one day and the B team goes in and views prosections. Then you flip. Your group is changed up after each unit (we have 3 total). Later on, in the fall, they mix us up with other learning communities.
Click to expand...
 
I wanna pick!! I have a couple people I'm already becoming friends with, so that would be cool.

I'd be in the midget group if we went by height.
 
It is pretty nice. I like it a lot. Our class is pretty average in size (120) but it feels much smaller when you are broken up into groups of 30. Then, on top of that, there is overlap with a lot of my group stuff already as well. We have a group for anatomy, a large group for our clinical stuff and then a smaller group for a discussion thing.

It really is a sense of community. I'm sure the drama hasn't had a chance to build, but as of now people still brew coffee for multiple people and make extra copies for stuff. We have wirelessly networked printers, so I can print to my learning community from the lecture hall and then pick up a friend's stuff while I'm at it.
 
majahops said:
Having to pick (and be picked by) other people has always been a source of anxiety for me, since I was a little kid. Also, it tends to stratify people by personality type, ethinicity and attractiveness (not absolutely, but generally - I'm guessing you'll say that your group had 1 member of each race and 2 people were beauty pageant winners whereas 3 were blind midgets with one leg... hehe)... which I would imagine does a disservice to overall class cohesion. But I could be wrong. I just hope Jefferson doesn't do it this way.
Click to expand...



Actually, we figured out a few weeks in that our group was one of 3 (out of 30+) that had no minorities whatsoever. Five caucasians. One hot girl, another so-so girl, a girl just a bit below average, then myself and another guy. In case you were curious.
 
I freaking love your user name dude. I, too, am a guy who does stuff. I feel like I've known you forever, brother. 🙂

GuyWhoDoesStuff said:
Actually, we figured out a few weeks in that our group was one of 3 (out of 30+) that had no minorities whatsoever. Five caucasians. One hot girl, another so-so girl, a girl just a bit below average, then myself and another guy. In case you were curious.
Click to expand...
 
I know of at least one school (I know one of anatomy professors) that assigns lab groups based on MCAT scores/gpa. They try and make sure each table has an even range of scores. (the idea being that the "good students" don't get concentrated on one table)
 
SirGecko said:
I know of at least one school (I know one of anatomy professors) that assigns lab groups based on MCAT scores/gpa. They try and make sure each table has an even range of scores. (the idea being that the "good students" don't get concentrated on one table)
Click to expand...

That's crazy. As soon as you are enrolled into medical school, none of that college GPA/MCAT should even matter.
 
BlueElmo said:
That's crazy. As soon as you are enrolled into medical school, none of that college GPA/MCAT should even matter.
Click to expand...

It's not like they use it for anything substantial. They just want a mix of students at each table so they can help each other.
 
As far as I could tell, ours were pretty random. Our group worked out great, but the one next to us was always yelling at each other. Most sane people can get along with each other well enough for the duration of one class, but throw in one really strong personality and all bets are off.
 
MrBurns10 said:
haha, yes I'm being serious, and it makes a lot of sense to do it that way. You want the anatomy table at a comfortable height for everyone. The tallest guy in my class is 6'6" while the shortest is 5'0". Can you imagine if they were working on the same cadaver?
Click to expand...
So if you are a tall guy, basically taht means you are Effed, since your group will most likely be all guys or a giant female.
 
Anatomy sucks when you are tall regardless of the people around you. I don't think our tables adjust for height but maybe others do. I am hunched over the entire time. My back is usually fried after a bit, although I did pull a new PR the other day in the gym after anatomy, so maybe it isn't too bad.
 
GuyWhoDoesStuff said:
Wait, you guys were seriously all assigned your groups? We got to pick whomever we wanted. We had had a week or so of orientation activities so a lot of us already sort of had people we were becoming "friends" with.

We were just told a couple days in advance "oh, your anatomy groups will be groups of 5, so try to have 4 other people lined up, but if you don't it's no big deal, anyone who doesn't can get paired up together into groups of 5."

Four out of the 5 of us in my original group are still really good friends.
Click to expand...

That seems like it would create a lot of anxiety for a bunch of first years who don't know each other. I can just envision everyone clawing to get into little cliques, trashing or picking on others to get rid of them from a group, etc.

I like the idea of assigned groups, mostly because it gets rid of the anxiety. Also because it would force people who wouldn't necessarily socialize together to get to know each other.

Glad it worked out for you though.
 
SirGecko said:
It's not like they use it for anything substantial. They just want a mix of students at each table so they can help each other.
Click to expand...

The bad part about that is, if students know how they're paired, the guy with the 40/4.0 is likely to brag about it... so from there, it'd be pretty simple for the rest of the class to figure out which guys got scores on the lower end of the spectrum. I guess if no one talks about their scores, it wouldn't matter much.
 
ChubbyChaser said:
So if you are a tall guy, basically taht means you are Effed, since your group will most likely be all guys or a giant female.
Click to expand...
If by "effed" you mean can't hit on a girl while wrist deep in a dead body with the pungent cologne of formaldehyde permeating the air, then yes...
 
unsung said:
That seems like it would create a lot of anxiety for a bunch of first years who don't know each other. I can just envision everyone clawing to get into little cliques, trashing or picking on others to get rid of them from a group, etc.

I like the idea of assigned groups, mostly because it gets rid of the anxiety. Also because it would force people who wouldn't necessarily socialize together to get to know each other.

Glad it worked out for you though.
Click to expand...

Me, too. I don't really like the idea of choosing your own group either.
 
My school does it by last name. That said, tho, there's absolutely nothing stopping you from joining any other table you wish - except, perhaps, that table's members.
 
Totally agree with you. Totally.

unsung said:
That seems like it would create a lot of anxiety for a bunch of first years who don't know each other. I can just envision everyone clawing to get into little cliques, trashing or picking on others to get rid of them from a group, etc.

I like the idea of assigned groups, mostly because it gets rid of the anxiety. Also because it would force people who wouldn't necessarily socialize together to get to know each other.

Glad it worked out for you though.
Click to expand...
 
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